Cursed
by Arendelle Knight
Summary: Two months after the events of 'Return of the Queen', Anna is back to her old self, but Elsa can't stop worrying about her little sister, and someone is plotting to wipe Arendelle off the map.
1. Gift

**AN: This is the third in a series of fanfics I've done set in the same AU. If you haven't read Exile and Return of the Queen I highly recommend you read those before reading Cursed.**

**Chapter 1 - Gift**

Elsa paced the floor of her study nervously. It was getting dark and Anna still hadn't returned to the castle. Ever since almost losing Anna to an assassination attempt less than two months ago Elsa had barely let her sister out of her sight, and when she did she spent the whole time worrying, her mind conjuring up one horrifying scenario after another. Almost all of them ended with Anna dead.

Elsa admired her sister's strength and courage over the past two months. A lot of people would have shut down after surviving something like that, they would have locked themselves away in fear, but not Anna. Anna was unbreakable, and as soon as Doctor Larsen had given her a clean bill of health she was on her feet and out the door, happily dancing and skipping through Arendelle, greeting everyone like they were old friends.

Elsa wished she could be as strong as Anna, but it had taken all her strength just to let Anna leave the castle without her. Elsa had personally assigned Sigfried as Anna's bodyguard, and she knew that he was more than capable of protecting her sister from any harm, but she still worried. As Anna's big sister she would never stop worrying about her.

Finally Elsa heard the unmistakable sound of her little sister's voice approaching from down the corridor. When Anna arrived with Sigfried in tow the bodyguard gave the queen an apologetic look, but she was just happy her sister was safe. Forgetting herself momentarily, Elsa ran and embraced Anna.

"Whoa, okay, hi," Anna said, stunned by her big sister's sudden outpouring of affection, "I'm happy to see you too, Elsa, but it's getting hard to breathe." Elsa's face turned red as she released her sister, but her expression quickly became serious. "Where were you?" she asked. Anna immediately started telling Elsa all about her day, all the places she'd been, all the people she'd met. Suddenly something caught Elsa's attention, specifically something that was missing.

"Where's your crocus necklace?" Elsa asked, cutting Anna off mid sentence. The princess looked down as if just remembering the necklace was missing. "This nice old lady complimented me on it," she said, "so I gave it to her." Elsa looked aghast. "What? Anna, why would you do that?" she asked. "What?" Anna shrugged, "I was just being nice. Anyway I can get another one."

Elsa took in a few deep breaths. She realized that Anna didn't know what she'd done. "That necklace belonged to Mom," Elsa said sadly, "She wanted you to have it, Anna." At this Anna's face dropped. "Oh, Elsa. I'm so sorry, I had no idea." Seeing how upset her younger sister was Elsa forced a weak smile. "It's okay, Anna," she said, "It's done, and I'm sure you made that woman very happy."


	2. It Begins

**Chapter 2 - It Begins**

Elsa was out of bed in an instant when she heard Anna's screams echoing down the hall. As she ran towards her little sister's room Elsa's mind took her straight to the worst case scenario. Another assassination attempt, and when Anna's scream suddenly stopped Elsa thought that this time it had been successful.

When she burst into her sister's room Elsa was at first relieved to see nobody in the room but Anna, but when she took in the scene before her she felt her heart break. Anna was sweating profusely, curled up into a ball, holding herself tightly as she shook. She was barely able to form words between strangled cries, but she managed "El..sa...hurts."

Elsa was at her sister's side immediately, but she was helpless to ease the younger woman's pain. She could only hold her close and gently reassure her as she trembled and sobbed. When Anna finally passed out from the pain Elsa found herself shaking too. She had never seen her sister like this. Just last night she had been her usual cheerful self, but now she acted like she was dying.

Elsa forced herself to focus on the task at hand, she had to get Doctor Larsen. She didn't want to leave her sister alone like this, but if she didn't get her help soon she might very well die, so the queen stood on shaky legs and left to find the doctor.

* * *

By the time Elsa returned with Doctor Larsen Anna was out of bed. She greeted Elsa with a huge smile, but her expression changed when she noticed Doctor Larsen, and the look on her older sister's face. "Who died?" she asked with genuine concern. Elsa looked at her in disbelief and said "Anna, I thought you were dying. What happened? Anna looked confused as she shook her head. "I'm fine, Elsa. Are you okay?"


	3. Fever

**Chapter 3 - Fever**

In spite of Anna's protests Elsa insisted that Doctor Larsen examine her. Except for a slight fever the princess seemed perfectly fine. Nonetheless Elsa ordered Kai to cancel all her appointments so she could spend the whole day with Anna.

Even though she didn't remember a thing of what had happened earlier that morning and she was starting to suspect her big sister was losing her mind, Anna was excited to have Elsa all to herself for the day. Soon the sisters were in the castle courtyard building a snowman in the middle of summer.

In her hurry to start the day Anna hadn't dressed for the winter weather, but she wasn't cold. If anything she felt a little too warm, but not painfully so. Elsa took notice as Anna started sweating. "Are you feeling okay, Anna?" she asked. Anna could see the concern in her sister's eyes, but she honestly felt fine. "Yeah," she said, "just a little warm."

Elsa didn't feel the effects of cold weather the same as everyone else, but she knew that at least in the courtyard it was way too cold for Anna to be sweating like this. "I think we should get you back inside so you can lie down," Elsa said. "But I haven't even been out of bed for an hour," Anna replied with a fake pout.

Elsa smiled. She couldn't say no to Anna when she gave her that look. "Okay, fine," she said, "but if you start to feel sick tell me." Anna let out a triumphant squeal as she hugged her big sister. Elsa could feel how bad Anna's fever had gotten, but she didn't say anything. Anyway she didn't seem to be in any pain.

Indeed Anna wasn't in any pain, in fact she felt better than she had in a long time. She felt the warmth spreading within her until it was all consuming. It reminded her of how she felt after Elsa had accidentally froze her heart, but while the feeling was familiar it was at the same time very different.

Anna remembered how she had felt as she slowly froze to death from the inside. It had started in her heart and spread out until it had almost consumed her entirely. Every step she took she felt like her legs would freeze solid and snap off, every breath she took was a struggle, but this felt nothing like dying of a frozen heart. This felt amazing. Anna let out a contented sigh.

* * *

"It has been done, Your Majesty." The king smiled. Nothing left to do now but sit back and watch Arendelle burn to the ground.


	4. Born With the Powers or Cursed?

**Chapter 4 - Born With the Powers or Cursed?**

Anna's temperature continued to rise, and even though she still didn't feel any pain from the heat within her she was starting to get worried. She was sure she could hear the sound of a roaring fire echoing in her skull. "I must be losing my mind," she thought.

The change in Anna's mood didn't go unnoticed by Elsa, and neither did the fact that her snow was starting to melt. The queen's mind suddenly went to the question Pabbie had asked her father about her all those years ago, "Born with the powers or cursed?"

When Anna woke up screaming that morning Elsa had thought she was dying, but not ten minutes later she was fine, in fact she didn't even seem to remember what had happened. Now Anna's fever was getting worse every minute, and Elsa's mind kept going back to that question, "born with the powers or cursed?" Could Anna have been cursed? If so why? And how?

All at once it hit her, the necklace. Of course. Elsa had heard stories of witches placing curses on people using personal items, something of personal significance to the intended victim. Most people may have dismissed this as superstitious nonsense, but then most people hadn't been born with cryokinetic powers. Elsa had been born with her powers, maybe Anna had been cursed.

But what kind of curse had been placed on Anna? She didn't seem to have gained any sort of powers from it, unless superhuman resistance to a fever high enough to kill anyone else ten times over could be called a power. At the very least Anna should have been confined to her bed with her fever as bad as it was, but aside from the concern evident on her face she seemed perfectly fine.

Anna's agonized screams from earlier that day still haunted Elsa, and she couldn't help but worry that Anna's condition would worsen again. If her sister had been cursed it was only a matter of time before something horrible came of it.

As if on cue Elsa smelled smoke, and a few seconds later Anna burst into flames before her eyes. Elsa tried to put out the fire with her ice, but it turned to vapor as it approached the burning princess. Anna's entire body was on fire, but she wasn't screaming, she didn't seem to feel it at all, although her eyes betrayed the panic she was feeling.

When Anna realized that she wasn't dead she began to relax, taking in several deep calming breaths. Just as quickly as it had appeared the fire was gone, and Anna was standing there completely unharmed. The sisters just stood there staring at each other in shock at what had just happened.


	5. Now They Know

**Chapter 5 - Now They Know**

Anna and Elsa stood there in stunned silence. It was several seconds later that Elsa noticed the crowd gathered around them, and as she looked back at her sister her face turned bright red. "Anna, your dress," she said. Anna tried to cover herself as she realized that her dress was gone, having burned away completely.

Elsa waved her left hand and formed a beautiful ice dress to cover her sister, but it immediately started to melt. It seemed that Anna's powers reacted to her emotions much the same as Elsa's. "Anna," she said, "try to stay calm." Anna was anything but calm. "That's kind of difficult right now with half the town staring at me," she said.

Elsa took her sister's hands. "I know, but...just try," she said with a smile. Anna closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths, imagining that there was nobody around but her and Elsa. She gave Elsa a nod as she felt her temperature returning to normal. The queen tried again, and this time the dress didn't melt. Anna buried her face in Elsa's shoulder as they walked back into the castle.

Anna kept her composure long enough to change into something that wouldn't melt. Elsa was waiting on her sister's bed with her arms outstretched, and Anna immediately fell into them and broke down crying. She was so humiliated, and she was scared because she didn't know what was happening to her.

Was that going to happen again? Would she have to live the rest of her life knowing that at any second she could suddenly find herself naked in front of everyone? If that happened she would have to isolate herself as Elsa had for 13 long years. Either way she doubted she could look any of those people in the eyes ever again.

More worrying was just where the flames had come from in the first place. Before it had happened Anna had felt a fire inside her, emanating from her heart, getting hotter by the minute but never burning her. Suddenly it was obvious to her. Both sisters spoke up at the same time, with Anna saying "Elsa, I think I have fire powers," while Elsa said "Anna, I think you've been cursed."

"Wait, what?" Anna asked stunned, "Cursed? Elsa, this is the best thing to ever happen to me." She held out her hand and focused hard, willing a small fireball to appear. Anna stared at the bright orange flame in her hand with childlike wonder. "I have fire powers! This is amazing!" she said excitedly.

Elsa smiled for her sister's benefit, but she was worried. She had spent years in isolation, fearing her powers, fearing that she would lose control and hurt Anna. Now her little sister had suddenly been cursed with fire powers. Fire was way more dangerous than ice, it was a destructive force. If Anna ever lost control she could burn Arendelle to the ground, and her baby sister wasn't exactly known for her control.

Elsa nodded towards the flame and Anna willed it out of existence so Elsa could embrace her. "You're right," the queen said, "I know how to control my powers now, I'm sure your powers work much the same way." Anna knew what her sister meant. "They react to my emotions," she said. Elsa nodded. "As long as you stay calm you'll stay in control." She paused before continuing. "Just promise me you won't run away to the north mountain and lock yourself in a castle made of fire." Anna's face lit up. "Do you think I can do that?" she asked excitedly.


	6. Vengeance

**Chapter 6 - Vengeance**

Anna was eager to see what she could do with her new powers, so Elsa agreed to help her practice. More than anything she just wanted to make sure Anna didn't burn down the castle, so she ordered the courtyard locked off to everyone but the two of them.

It wasn't even a minute before Anna had set her dress on fire again, but this time she was able to will the flames away before they could do too much damage. She looked down at her singed clothing with a frown. "I really liked that dress," she said. Elsa stifled a laugh. "Don't worry, I'll commission another one just like it first thing tomorrow." Anna smiled as an idea came to her.

Anna waved her hand towards the ground and fire started climbing up her legs, burning away her damaged dress as it went. Elsa grinned too as she realized what her sister was doing, and seconds later Anna was wearing a dress made entirely out of fire. "That's great, Anna," Elsa said, "but you can't walk into the castle like that. You'll burn it to the ground." Anna's smile faded. She hadn't thought that one through.

* * *

King Lucius of The Southern Isles sat on his throne awaiting news on the situation in Arendelle. He had paid a hefty sum to the witch who had cursed Princess Anna. A small price to pay he knew considering how much personal risk the old woman was taking by betraying her princess and her country.

No doubt Princess Anna would have discovered her powers by now, and based on what King Lucius knew of Arendelle's youngest royal she would not be able to control those powers. He was certain that it would only be a matter of time before she burned Arendelle to the ground.

This is a girl who had followed her sister into the mountains in the middle of an unnatural winter with little to no thought for her own personal safety. She had almost died for her trouble, and this was to say nothing of her heat of the moment decision to leave a man she had just met in charge of Arendelle while she was away. The princess was reckless, impulsive, and she wouldn't be able to keep her powers under control for long.

All Lucius had to do was watch and wait. Hans would be avenged, and Princess Anna was going to do all the work.


	7. Control It

**Chapter 7 - Control It**

If Elsa hadn't known better she would have thought that Anna had been born with fire powers. Her sister was a natural, and after only an hour of practice in the castle courtyard she was summoning and dismissing her flames at will. "I think that's enough for right now," the queen said, "we can resume your practice after lunch." Anna looked disappointed as the fire tornado she had summoned ceased to exist, but she was hungry, so she started towards the castle.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Anna?" Elsa asked pointing at her sister's fire dress. "Oh, right," Anna said. She paused for a couple seconds before saying "But if I can't wear this into the castle..." Elsa cut her off with a laugh. "Just wait here," she said, "I'll go get you another dress. When Elsa returned Anna had her stand back a safe distance before creating a wall of fire around herself for privacy and getting dressed, then she followed her big sister into the castle.

Anna ate her meal quickly and rushed back out to the courtyard. There was something she had to try. Elsa followed closely behind her sister, curious and more than a little nervous to find out what her sister was going to do. Once again warning Elsa to stay back a safe distance Anna extended her arms in front of her, slowly and dramatically raising them, creating a giant fire monster.

The beast was the size of Marshmallow, but being made out of fire it was much more dangerous. It also had a mind of it's own, which Anna realized when it started walking towards Elsa. The princess tried to will the monster out of existence, but it kept advancing on Elsa as she backed away slowly. "Anna," she said with a nervous half laugh, "joke's over, call him off." Anna started to panic, which made it even harder to gain control. "Elsa, run!" she screamed.

Elsa dove out of the way just in time, feeling the intense heat as the beast took a swing at her. She put all her energy into an icy blast, but it vaporized before it even reached it's target. The queen scrambled to her feet and barely dodged another swing, landing painfully on her head. Dizzy from the impact Elsa could only crawl away slowly as her sister's creation summoned a flaming sword out of thin air and raised it high, ready to deliver a killing blow.

"NOOOO!" Anna threw herself in front of the monster and closed her eyes, waiting for death, but it never came as the monster finally disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of smoke. Anna turned to Elsa and helped her to her feet. The sisters embraced as Anna asked "Are you okay?" Elsa's voice was shaky when she answered. "My head hurts, but I'll live." After a few seconds she took a deep breath and added in a much more steady tone, "Please don't ever do that again."


	8. Don't Touch Me

**Chapter 8 - Don't Touch Me**

For the second time in as many nights Elsa awoke to the sound of Anna's screams. She found her sister sitting in her bed sobbing with her knees hugged to her chest. As Elsa approached Anna's bed the younger woman recoiled in panic. "Don't touch me!" she said, "I don't want to hurt you."

Elsa sat down on Anna's bed and pulled her sister into a warm embrace. "Anna," she said softly, "You're not going to hurt me." Anna tried to pull away but Elsa wouldn't let her go. "You're not going to hurt me, Anna," she repeated, "I'm not afraid, you don't have to protect me from yourself."

Anna started to pull away again, but instead she broke down crying on her sister's shoulder. "I killed you Elsa," she said between sobs, "I dreamed my monster killed you. I couldn't control it and..." Anna broke down, unable to finish her sentence. "I'm right here, Anna," Elsa said gently, "It's okay. It was just a dream."

"It's not okay, Elsa," Anna said, "I could have killed you yesterday." She looked at her big sister, her vision clouded with tears. "That thing I created almost killed you, and I couldn't do anything to stop it." The next words out of Anna's mouth made Elsa's heart hurt. "I'm a monster."

Elsa knew where this thought process would lead because she had gone through the same thing. After she struck Anna when they were kids, after she almost killed her, she feared her powers, and she thought of herself as a monster. She wasn't about to let Anna suffer in isolation as she had.

"Anna," she began, "You're not a monster." Anna started to object but Elsa cut her off. "You're not," she said firmly, "What you are is my beautiful, kind, loving little sister who has been burdened with a power she doesn't yet know how to control." She wiped the tears from her sister's eyes.

"That thing almost killed me yesterday," Elsa continued, "and you threw yourself in front of it to protect me. Does that sound like something a monster would do?" Anna hesitated before shaking her head. "Thanks, Elsa," she said with a smile, finally returning her sister's hug.


	9. Contingency Plan

**Chapter 9 - Contingency Plan**

In the following weeks Anna continued to hone her skills under Elsa's guidance. She really was a natural, but a part of her still feared hurting Elsa, and it was apparent to the queen that her younger sister was holding back from her true potential.

"I think it's time you tried raising another fire monster," Elsa said one day as Anna was practicing in the courtyard. Anna turned pale, her mind going back to her first attempt as she said "Elsa, I can't. The last time I did that you almost died."

"You've come so far since then, Anna," Elsa said, "This time you'll be able to control it, I know you will." Anna didn't look convinced so Elsa continued. "You don't have to go all out immediately. Why don't you start out with something smaller?"

Anna hesitated and looked at her sister with a weak smile. "Are you ready?" she asked nervously. Elsa nodded, giving her a reassuring smile. The princess of Arendelle held out a trembling hand and slowly raised it, bringing into existence a fire monster that looked just as scary as the last one, except it was only about her height.

Anna started to panic when the creature took a few steps towards Elsa, but the queen gave her a confident smile. "Keep calm, Anna," she said, "you can do this." Anna cleared her throat and spoke to her creation with authority. "Stop!" she said, and to her delight the monster obeyed. She looked towards Elsa, who was beaming at her. "I knew you could do it," the queen said happily.

With renewed confidence Anna conjured a flaming sword out of her hands and turned her gaze towards the fire monster, silently challenging it to a duel. "Anna, what are you doing?" Elsa asked nervously. Anna smiled at her as her creation conjured it's own flaming sword and she parried it's first strike. "Don't worry, sis," she said, "He can't hurt me. The heat doesn't bother me anymore."

* * *

King Lucius was not happy. It had been more than a month ago that Princess Anna had been cursed with fire powers, and by all reports she was controlling them with no problem. When the king had devised his plan he hadn't known that Princess Anna's older sister, Queen Elsa, had gained control over her own powers, that she was in a perfect position to help the princess control her curse.

Not only had his plan seemingly failed, but King Lucius had created a very dangerous enemy for himself, that was of course if it was ever discovered by the queen of Arendelle just who it was that had cursed her sister, and for what purpose. If Lucius had been a wiser man he would have cut his losses, but Lucius was not wise. He had not been crowned king on any merit of his own, but simply because he had been the firstborn, the eldest of the 13 Westerguard brothers.

Lucius was not one to give up when defeat was apparent, nor even when proceeding in his plans was likely to bring destruction upon himself and upon his kingdom. His youngest brother Hans would be avenged, even if it cost Lucius everything. He had created a very powerful enemy for himself, now he was going to poke that enemy with a stick.


	10. Gone

**Chapter 10 - Gone**

Anna had come a long way since discovering her new powers, and she knew she couldn't have done it without Elsa. Her big sister had been there for her every single day helping her learn to control her fire, even after that fire almost killed her. No doubt there were people in Arendelle who feared Anna's powers, who feared her losing control, feared her becoming a monster, but not Elsa. Elsa had supported Anna from the start, she had always believed that her little sister would be able to control her powers, and now she was gone.

Whatever had happened to Elsa she hadn't gone without a fight. Her bedroom was almost completely frozen over, vicious spikes sticking out of the walls and floor, but there was no sign of the queen. Anna tried to keep calm, to assess the situation, to find some clue as to her sister's whereabouts, but she was quickly losing it. She felt her knees give out from under her as she collapsed to the floor, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Her entire world was coming down around her, she had never felt more helpless.

Anna's heart skipped a beat when she heard a weak groan coming from behind the bed. Part of her wanted to run to her sister's side, but there was another part of her that feared what she would find. With great effort she forced herself to stand and take those first shaky steps across the room. Her fear was replaced immediately with anger when she found not her sister, but a nearly unconscious man impaled through his leg on an ice spike.

Anna grabbed the man by the collar and roughly pulled him up to meet her gaze. He screamed in agony, now fully awake and aware of his surroundings. "What did you do with my sister?!" Anna screamed. When the man took too long to respond Anna pressed the palm of her hand against his face, eliciting another scream as his flesh sizzled. When she pulled her hand back she left behind a gruesome burn. "It took a lot of effort to hold my powers back like that," she growled, "now I'll ask you one more time. What did you do with Elsa?"

* * *

Elsa woke up with a pounding headache, finding herself in the brig of a large ship on it's way...somewhere. She didn't know who it was that had taken her, but the events of that morning were slowly coming back to her. She had woke to four men bursting into her room, she had barely had the time or the presence of mind to put up a fight, but she managed to wound one of them. His friends had left him behind to die.

The queen's mind immediately went to Anna. By now she had surely discovered that she was gone, maybe she had even found the wounded man she left behind. Her little sister wasn't someone you wanted to mess with even before she had fire powers, now she could be deadly if she wanted to be. Elsa knew that Anna would do whatever she could to find her, and with one of the attackers at her mercy she would find out where she was being taken one way or another. "Please, Anna," Elsa thought, "don't come looking for me. Just stay safe."


	11. Losing Control

**AN: Special thanks to r/frozen user cupcakes_please for his help in writing this chapter.**

**Chapter 11 - Losing Control**

Sigfried was starting to worry. The queen and the princess never slept this late, but nobody had seen either of them all morning. He was about to knock on Princess Anna's door when he heard a pained scream echoing down the halls. It was coming from Queen Elsa's room, but it didn't sound like either the queen or the princess.

Sigfried ran as fast as he could, meeting Anna as she stumbled out of her sister's room and slid down the wall, putting her face in her hands as she shook violently. The smell of burned flesh lingered in the air, and when Sigfried looked inside he saw a man trembling on the floor with a burn in the shape of a hand print on his face. When he noticed the ice spike sticking through the man's leg he knew something terrible had happened to Queen Elsa.

"What happened?" Sigfried asked, turning to Anna. The princess spoke, but more to herself than to Sigfried. "Elsa was wrong," she said at just above a whisper, "I am a monster." Sigfried glanced at the wounded man, then back to Anna. "Now's not the time, Your Highness," he said a little more aggressively than he'd intended, "What happened to the queen?" Anna snapped out of her trance and stood to her feet, saying with as much authority as she could muster "My sister's been taken. Ready me a ship, I'm going to bring her home."

Sigfried took a second to process what he'd just heard. "Your Highness," he said carefully, "are you sure that's wise?" Anna looked at him with a hint of anger in her face. "I don't care if it's wise," she said bluntly, "In my sister's absence I am acting queen, so you can consider it an order." Sigfried took a few seconds to consider his next words before following Anna down the hall. "Your Majesty," he said, "we don't even know where Queen Elsa has been taken." Anna turned on him and responded "I know exactly where she's been taken. The Southern Isles."

* * *

The ship Elsa was on came to a stop, and she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She knew it wouldn't do her any good to take down her captors before they could let her out of her cell, so she pretended to be asleep and waited for her opening.

She heard the iron door open. "Get up, Your Majesty," one of the men said mockingly. Elsa didn't hear any other voices, but that didn't mean more weren't around. Regardless she knew that it was now or never. She rolled over to face her assailant and willed Frostbite to appear in her hand as she swung, taking his legs out from under him and taking one of them off just above the ankle.

Elsa was on her feet in an instant, running out the open door and up the stairs, only to be greeted by another one of her captors. Before he could react the queen had him frozen to the deck. Elsa took off running. She would figure out where she was and find her way back to Arendelle later, right now she just had to worry about getting off this ship, getting somewhere safe.

Elsa was almost there when something blunt struck her across the back of the head and she collapsed to the deck unconscious. King Lucius drew his sword as he approached the queen of Arendelle and the man who had halted her escape. "I stopped her, Your Majesty," he said proudly. The king didn't look impressed as he drove his sword into the man's stomach, looking him in the eyes as he died. "Not quickly enough," he said flatly.


	12. Reflection

**AN: I would once again like to thank r/frozen user cupcakes_please for his help with this chapter.**

**Chapter 12 - Reflection**

Anna had a lot of time to think on her journey, and her mind kept going back to the man she had tortured for information on where Elsa had been taken. She could still hear his screams, still see his face forever disfigured by her curse. She knew that only a monster would do what she had done, and she feared how much further she might have gone had he not given up his friends so readily.

In that moment Anna didn't know what had happened to her sister, didn't even know if she was still alive. Elsa was the only thing that mattered right then, and if she had to keep burning that guy to get the answers she wanted she would have done it. She feared that if he had held out long enough she might have killed him.

She feared that she might still be forced to kill in order to get her sister back. The king of The Southern Isles had ordered for the queen of Arendelle to be abducted, Anna knew very well what this meant. As of right now Arendelle was at war with The Southern Isles, and as in any war there was guaranteed to be loss of life.

Anna wondered if she could kill someone if it came to that. She was sure she would have killed the man in Elsa's room in the heat of the moment, but having time to consider her actions could she actually go through with it? Could she end a life if Elsa's life depended on it? Would she be able to live with herself after doing something like that?

Anna was lost in her thoughts, until the deafening sound of cannon fire snapped her back to reality. Before she could make it out the door and onto the main deck she was met by Captain Halvorsen. "Your Majesty," he said, "we're under attack."

The scene that greeted Anna when she reached the deck was one of pure chaos. Soldiers were scrambling for the cannons, several were lying broken and bloody near where the cannonball had impacted. Off in the distance a ship approached bearing the flag of The Southern Isles.

"Everybody to your stations!" Anna cried. She knew that her next order would indirectly kill more than a few men. With a heavy sigh she closed her eyes and said "Return fire!"


	13. Don't Feel

**AN: I would once again like to thank r/frozen's own cupcakes_please for helping bring this chapter together.**

**Chapter 13 - Don't Feel**

When Elsa awoke in the dungeon she almost immediately realized that her hands weren't chained, in fact she wasn't restrained in any way. Was there even anyone guarding her? She grinned as she raised her hands before her, intending to blow a hole in the wall with an icy blast, but nothing happened.

"Oh good, you're awake." Elsa looked towards the door to see a man she could only assume was King Lucius, and beside him stood an old woman that Elsa recognized. She didn't know the woman's name, but she knew that she was from Arendelle. She looked sick, really sick, like she only had days left to live.

"Queen Elsa," Lucius said, "I believe you know Målfrid." Elsa tried to summon her ice again to no avail. King Lucius smiled. "You can stop trying, you're completely ordinary now." Målfrid looked at the queen apologetically and suddenly Elsa understood. "You cursed Anna," she said. Målfrid nodded weakly, hanging her head in shame.

"I paid her quite generously for her services," Lucius said, "After all, her grandchildren will have need of food and shelter after she's gone." Elsa wasn't angry at Målfrid, in that moment she felt nothing but pity for the old woman. Had she come to her asking for help she would have made sure her grandchildren were fed.

But Målfrid hadn't come to Elsa for help, instead she had betrayed Arendelle. She had cursed Anna with fire powers and she had taken away Elsa's powers. "Wait," Elsa said incredulously, "So you're telling me that your plan was to give your enemy fire powers?" She looked at him in utter confusion. "How exactly does that benefit you?"

Lucius shook his head. "No, Queen Elsa," he said, "My plan was to give my enemy fire powers, kidnap her sister, then sit back and wait for her to lose control." Elsa turned pale as the realization hit her. Anna's powers were influenced by her emotions. She had been taken to make Anna lose control of her emotions, to make her lose control of her powers. If that happened she would burn down Arendelle.

* * *

At that moment Anna was losing control, but she was nowhere near Arendelle. Just off the coast of The Southern Isles a battle was raging and a very unnatural storm was brewing. Cannonballs flew between the flagships of Arendelle and The Southern Isles as fire started raining from the heavens.

Anna realized what was happening, but she was powerless to stop it. Her panic only grew as she watched her men fighting and dying, cannonballs crashing down all around her as her fire started to spread, engulfing the sails and leaving the pride of Arendelle's Navy dead in the water. She tried to shut out the chaos surrounding her, to gain control of her powers, but as her panic grew so did the storm she had unintentionally created.

Captain Halvorsen barely dodged a fireball before looking to Anna pleadingly. "Your Majesty, please!" he said, "You're only making it worse!" Anna took several deep breaths, but any sense of calm she might have had was gone in an instant as a cannonball landed only a few feet away from her, slamming into Halvorsen and killing him instantly.

Anna fell to the deck holding her head in her hands. "Control it," she said to herself, choking back tears. "Don't feel, don't feel, don't feel." But she did feel, and she couldn't control the storm, it was only getting worse by the second. She decided to change her strategy, putting all her effort into directing the storm away from her own ship.

Anna finally managed to redirect the storm, but the damage had already been done. Both ships were sinking and broken bodies were strewn all over the deck around Anna, ripped apart by cannon fire. Arendelle and The Southern Isles had been at war for less than a day and already so many lives had been lost on both sides. Anna could see The shore of The Southern Isles, she was sure she could swim there. She wiped the tears from her cheeks, took a deep breath, and dove in.


	14. Under the Cover of Night

**Chapter 14 - Under the Cover of Night**

By the time Anna made it to the shore of The Southern Isles darkness was beginning to fall. When she caught her breath and looked around she was shocked at the damage her storm had caused. Fires still burned here and there and smoke billowed high into the sky. Anna took a deep breath. There would be time to hate herself for all the destruction she caused later, right now she had to find Elsa.

Anna stood to her feet and saw her destination before her, the castle of The Southern Isles. No doubt her sister was being held inside, that was if she was even still alive. Anna shook this thought from her mind and trudged onward. Elsa simply had to be okay, she wouldn't let herself entertain the other possibility.

As Anna approached the castle she saw two guards standing in front of the gate. She could take them down without killing them, but she wouldn't be able to get the gate open. She had to find another way in. Looking up and down the castle wall she found an open window, and it wasn't too far off the ground. She climbed the walls of the castle in Arendelle all the time during the last 13 years, so this would be a breeze.

Anna climbed in the open window only to be met by a man who looked very much like Hans, but a few years older. Thinking fast she closed the distance between them and clamped a hand forcefully over the prince's mouth before he could call for the guards. He stopped struggling, his eyes wide with fear when Anna summoned a fireball in her free hand. "I'm going to pull my hand away," she said, "but if you scream I swear I will roast you."

She didn't mean a word of it, but Anna's threat worked. The prince nodded and Anna pulled her hand away slowly. "Now," she said with just a hint of menace, "where is my sister being held?" The prince looked genuinely confused. "I'm sorry, what?" he asked. Anna's expression remained hard, but she was mentally kicking herself. Hans had 12 older brothers. Why would she assume they were all like him?

"Who are you?" the prince asked. Anna kept her hand raised, ready to summon her flames if he tried anything. "I'm Princess Anna of Arendelle," she replied, "your king has taken my sister, and you're going to help me get her back." The prince looked stunned. "Lucius kidnapped Queen Elsa?" he asked. Anna didn't answer the prince's question, instead she said simply "Take me to the dungeon."


	15. One Wrong Move

**Chapter 15 - One Wrong Move**

"I'm Jonathan by the way." Anna had been lost in thought as she and the prince made their way towards the dungeon. "What?" she asked. "Prince Jonathan of The Southern Isles," the prince said, "I know we got off to a bad start, Your Highness, but I really do want to help you find your sister."

Anna was surprised to find herself trusting Prince Jonathan so quickly, but then again if he had wanted to turn her in to the guards he had plenty of chances to do so already. In fact he had been very helpful in helping her avoid guards, something she was very thankful for. Her powers had already caused so much pain, so much destruction, she didn't want to hurt anyone else if it could be helped.

"You can just call me Anna," she said. "Well, Anna," Jonathan said as they rounded a corner, "what's the plan?" Anna looked at him with confusion. "Plan?" she asked. He nodded and asked "What's the plan for getting your sister out of here?" Anna realized she didn't have a plan, she wasn't even sure if she was going to find Elsa, or if she was even still alive. Anna's characteristic optimism was gone, her mind filled with horrifying images of Elsa dead in a pool of her own blood.

"I'm sure she's fine," Jonathan said when he noticed the worried look on Anna's face. When the princess didn't say anything Jonathan continued. "Lucius must have taken Queen Elsa for a reason, he probably wants something from her. She would be no use to him dead." With that last word Anna shot Jonathan a piercing glare. "Jonathan, I know you're trying to help, but let's just focus on finding my sister."

The prince nodded. "The dungeon is just down these stairs," he said as he started down ahead of Anna. The princess hesitated for a moment, briefly wondering if she was being led into a trap, but she shook the thought from her head and pressed onward. She had to get to Elsa, and if Jonathan turned against her she would do what she had to do.

As they made their way down the stairs they could hear the sounds of a struggle, and Anna broke into a run leaving Jonathan behind. When she rounded the final corner she saw Lucius pinning Elsa against the wall while she tried to fight him off. When he saw Anna Lucius acted quickly, pushing Elsa down to the floor on her knees and drawing his sword, holding it high above the queen's head. He turned his head towards Anna and shouted "One wrong move and your sister dies!"

Anna stopped dead in her tracks, raising a shaky hand in front of her. "If you hurt her I will end you right here," she said with more confidence than she felt in that moment. Lucius immediately picked up on Anna's hesitance, the way her hand shook, the way her voice wavered almost imperceptibly, and a wicked grin formed on his face.

"You don't have it in you to end me," he said. Anna summoned a fireball into her outstretched hand. "Don't test me," she said. Lucius laughed, raising his sword higher. Elsa looked at her sister, and though she didn't say a word Anna knew what that look meant. With that look Anna's mask broke and her eyes filled with tears. In that moment Elsa had resigned herself to her fate. She wasn't pleading for Anna to save her, she was saying goodbye.

Lucius brought the sword down, giving Anna no time to think. All she could do was react, sending a small flame directly at her sister's attacker, striking him in the heart. The fire didn't burn the king, at least not on the outside, but he stumbled backwards clutching his chest as his sword fell to the floor, barely missing Elsa.

Lucius screamed in agony as he felt himself burning alive from the inside out. Before Anna could even register what she had done Lucius burst into flames, and seconds later his screams stopped abruptly as his entire body was consumed, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes where he had been standing.


	16. The Monster I Feared I Was

**Chapter 16 - The Monster I Feared I Was**

Elsa bowed her head and waited for the end, but it never came. When she looked up Lucius was gone and Anna was on her knees shaking and sobbing into her hands. The queen looked back towards where Lucius had been standing, and when she saw the pile of ashes she immediately understood what had happened.

She couldn't imagine what Anna was going through in that moment, but then again she knew exactly how she felt. For 13 years she had locked herself away for fear of hurting Anna. All that time she had viewed herself as a monster, and she knew that in that moment Anna must have thought the same of herself.

Elsa stood up and walked over to Anna, kneeling down in front of her and pulling her close. Anna started to push Elsa away, but then she fell into the embrace sobbing uncontrollably on her big sister's shoulder. The two stayed like that for a while before Anna calmed down enough to form words. The first words out of her mouth were "You were wrong about me, Elsa. I'm a monster"

Elsa held Anna at arm's length, looking into her eyes as she said "Anna, don't say that about youself." Anna looked at the pile of ashes that just a few minutes ago was a living breathing human being. "Elsa," she said," I killed someone." Elsa pulled Anna close again. "You saved my life, Anna," she said, "if you hadn't done what you did I would be dead right now."

Anna knew her sister was right. She hadn't set out to kill Lucius, but he tried to kill Elsa. She didn't have time to think, didn't have time to come up with a plan, she had to act right then or watch Elsa die. She knew that she couldn't have done anything but exactly what she did, but that didn't make her feel better about it.

Anna only felt worse when she saw Jonathan crying over the remains of his older brother. She thought about how she would have felt if it had been Elsa, it almost was Elsa, would have been if she hadn't acted quickly enough. Suddenly it hit her. "Elsa, why didn't you do something?" she asked. Elsa looked confused for a moment but then she understood what her sister meant.

"Anna," she began slowly, "I've been cursed. My powers are gone." Just a few short months ago Elsa would have been happy to be rid of her powers. At the time she thought of them as a curse, but now she saw the beauty in them and they were gone. She was surprised to realize that she felt a sense of loss. Despite this Elsa faked a smile for Anna's sake. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that you're safe."

"I can remove the curse, Queen Elsa." The sisters hadn't noticed Målfrid standing nearby. She looked even weaker than the last time Elsa saw her. "I can restore your powers to you," the old woman said, "and I can take your powers away if you wish," she continued, turning to Anna. Elsa looked to Anna before walking towards Målfrid.


	17. Return to Arendelle

**Chapter 17 - Return to Arendelle**

The 11 remaining Westerguard brothers mourned the death of Lucius, but not one of them blamed Princess Anna for what she did. Once Prince Jonathan explained the situation they understood that she only did what she had to do to save her sister, and none of them were the least bit surprised by Lucius' actions.

Prince Thomas was next in line for the throne of The Southern Isles, and his first act as king was to grant Queen Elsa and Princess Anna a ship to transport them back to Arendelle. After only a day the war between Arendelle and The Southern Isles was over, and as long as King Thomas was on the throne the two kingdoms would live in peace and harmony.

Målfrid returned home with the queen and the princess. She spent her last days with her grandchildren, and Queen Elsa made sure that they wanted for nothing after their grandmother was gone.

Anna chose to keep her powers, and with Elsa's help she learned to control them. In the back of her mind she still feared losing control and hurting someone, sometimes she was tempted to isolate herself as Elsa had for 13 years, but Elsa never gave up on her just as she had never given up on Elsa.


End file.
